SynthesisBMC oral health2025
Oral health interventions and strategies delivered by care workers to older people living in care homes: an overview of systematic reviews.
Synthesis in BMC oral health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Committing to oral care support for older people living in long-term residential care settings: A theoretically informed scoping review of enablers and barriers influencing care staff behaviours.International journal of nursing studies advances · 2026Review
- Xerostomia and Oral Health-Related Quality of Life in Chilean Older Adults Living in Long-Term Care Facilities.Gerodontology · 2026Article
- The SPACES Framework: Sustainable Oral Health Programs for Older Adults.Dentistry journal · 2026Article
- Understanding how to promote oral care 'mouth minutes' in care homes: qualitative study with utilisation of the COM-B framework.BMC oral health · 2026Article
- Oral Health in Residential Settings: A Public Health Priority.HRB open research · 2025Article
- Efficacy of the fully automated oral care robot with adjunctive MA-T gel for dental biofilm removal: A prospective crossover study.Journal of oral biology and craniofacial researchArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPoor oral health is common among older people living in long-term residential care environments, or care homes. For decades, various strategies have been proposed to enhance and sustain oral health within this setting. However, implementation of these strategies and interventions has been variable, with limited positive impacts on long term oral health outcomes.
aimThe aim of this overview of reviews was to identify, appraise and synthesise systematic reviews of interventions or strategies provided by care home staff to support residents with their oral health.
methodProtocol registration: PROSPERO (International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews) registration ID: CRD42021293159. The search for systematic reviews was conducted in March 2025 in the following databases: Medline, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO and Epistemonikos. An analysis of overlapping primary studies within SRs was undertaken. Quality of reviews was assessed using AMSTAR2. Results were tabulated and a narrative synthesis was conducted.
resultsA total of 14 SRs were included. Most studies focused on training care staff to improve oral health knowledge and skills and just under half of included studies involved oral health care interventions testing protocols, such as regular mouth cleaning and structured regimens tailored to residents’ needs, some studies focused on resident care with dementia or cognitive impairments. Barriers to delivering oral health care were reported including time constraints, insufficient training, staff turnover, and resistance from residents. Suggestions to overcome such barriers were hands-on training to enhance staff confidence, tailored care plans for residents with impairments, managerial support for resource allocation, and fostering collaboration between care staff, family, and dental professionals.
conclusionEvidence suggests that interventions are available to improve the oral health and care for this population, particularly around training of staff. However, the detail of the intervention was poorly documented. High-quality research is needed to determine which interventions benefit oral care for older people living in care homes.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.